Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Eastgate Mall, now Fairfield Commons Mall, opened on the east side of Richmond in unincorporated Henrico County in 1967. Recently, it became Richmond's oldest enclosed mall since Willow Lawn shopping center demolished what remained of their mall part in 2011. Unfortunately, this is a dubious distinction since the mall itself is barely hanging on as a retail center with much of the property in disrepair. In fact, it is probably one of the most run down malls I have seen to keep as many inline tenants as it has and remain open to the public. Unfortunately, the small size and condition of the mall is not leading to any plans to keep it open, renovate or expand on it in its current form. Instead, it was announced in June 2012 that an Arizona developer named Bromont Investments was planning to demolish the mall and replace it with a strip including an unmentioned 90,000 square feet tenant (1).

Eastgate Mall when it opened was not a showy mall. It was a basic one-level T-shaped mall anchored on the east end by regional chain Thalhimer's and on the west end by Sears. In the middle was junior anchor G.C. Murphy's. The mall also appeared to have a People's Drug, which is currently the Citi Trends space and a cafeteria, likely a Morrison's or local chain. Both have outside entrances with the former next to the former Sears and the latter near what was Thalhimer's. G.C. Murphy's was also designed with an outside entrance to the back of the mall. The mall was never expanded at any point in its history, and near the mall on the east end is the remains of what appears to be a grocery store built as part of the development. It is not known what store it was, however.

By far, the most interesting aspect of the mall is the Maxway, which originally opened as G.C. Murphy's and still retains the "M" from when it was Murphy's. A find like this, especially in a mall, this recent is rare indeed and proves that the days of the mall are definitely numbered.

Here are a couple other angles of the Murphy's turned McCrory's turned Maxway (keeping with the M theme). The last close-up shot of the "M" and tile was taken by Mike Kalasnik, who was touring with us that day.

More shots of the vintage Murphy's including some inside detail by Mike Kalasnik

Murphy's also included an outside entrance on the back side of the mall. As this and the following shots will show, the outside of the mall is extremely weathered and looks almost abandoned. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

The ability of Fairfield Commons Mall to survive as long as it has is really what is remarkable. It was renamed Fairfield Commons from the more generic Eastgate name in 1989, and its last remodel was in 1990 (1). Across the city, far more appealing options have since replaced the aging center, and the mall was largely supplanted in 1991 by the now struggling Virginia Center Commons to the west. Fairfield Commons lost Sears to the newer mall, and a year later Thalhimer's closed at the mall when the chain was bought out by May Company with most stores becoming Hecht's. However, Peeble's took over the former Thalhimer's the following year keeping at least one department store operating in the mall. This move by Peeble's essentially saved the mall from closure along with the continued operation of long-time tenant G.C. Murphy, which remained in the center until 2001. G.C. Murphy became a division of McCrory's, but apparently the location keep the name on the door through acquisitions by Ames in 1988 and McCrory's in 1989 up until the liquidation of the McCrory's corporation. It has since operated as Maxway, a division of Variety Wholesalers who also owns the Rose's chain. Essentially, the mall has shifted in the past two decades from a small regional shopping mall to a struggling community mall in a lower-income neighborhood.

A look down the straight-shot mall corridor. Evidence of water damage is plentiful throughout the mall. This is a problem with enclosed malls is that high rents are needed to maintain the building. A mall can appear to be doing okay tenant-wise, but when the rents are too low to maintain the building a decision must be made whether to close the mall, take a risk on massive renovations or raise rents, which in a mall like this will cause the mall to die anyway. Absent public funding, renovating an enclosed mall in a low income neighborhood is typically not practical. A massive renovation is planned: it just doesn't include a mall. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

Front entrance wing looking towards the main mall with Maxway in the background.

Another view of the Peebles mall entrance with what appears to be an old cafeteria on the left. The space has since been subdivided.

The mall as it stands has been owned since 1996 by local developer Albert Chiocca, who originally acquired the mall for $2.9 million (1). While the interior of the mall is very clean, the fact that the owners of the mall have given up on the property as an enclosed mall is apparent. On the exterior, paint is peeling everywhere and signs are falling apart. Only the Peebles still looks nice, and the building there is in excellent condition inside and out. Inside, water damage is visible in many places notably in center court and next to Sears. While it appears the leaks that caused the damage were repaired, the interior damage has not. The main entrance stucco is also crumbling and buckled, and the parking lot is in poor condition with weeds, overgrown shrubbery and broken pavement. In some ways, the mall looks abandoned even though it is still viable.

Looking towards the former Sears with Maxway on the left

What was this obvious original cafeteria space? Morrison's?

A nice view of the mall with fellow photographer Mike K walking on the left :)

Former Sears mall entrance now hidden because of the storage facility that took its place. Wouldn't it help business though to have a mall entrance to the front office for it? The door to the right was another entrance corridor that was apparently sealed off.

A view of the skylights and water damage.

The mall inside contains many elements reminiscent of its age. Many storefronts still maintain a 1970's appearance, and what is most striking is the Maxway, which has wood paneling and the oddly appropriate "M" left over from when the chain was G.C. Murphy. This is an extremely vintage trapping that is rarely found today in any retail center. The mall is also on a slight incline with a ramp and steps down to Peeble's and a ramp and steps up to the former Sears, which now operates as "Ample Storage". Ample Storage has no access to the mall. Curiously, the outside doors of what was Sears have been replaced with large garage doors. The former Sears auto center now operates as a charity. Across the street, the last Kmart in Richmond still serves shoppers in the declining area that was still a hot corridor in the 1980's. Probably the newest building in the area is the Bojangles located on an outlot of the mall.

Doors at rear entrance wing next to Sears with a remainder of the original Sears wall still visible.

A look back at the mall from Sears. There is a ramp up in front of Sears and a ramp down in front of Peeble's/Thalhimer's.

In all, I wish there was a way that this whole property could be redeveloped while keeping the mall, but realistically the mall has survived way past its usefulness and purpose. No retail anchor has come to fill the Sears void in over two decades, and Peeble's rarely anchors or complements malls. Maxway is typically viewed by residents of urban neighborhoods in a similar fashion to Family Dollar and Dollar General as blight, and it hardly provides the draw that G.C. Murphy once did. The mall still has moderately high vacancies, though clearly it is doing far better than many similar malls of this size and vintage.

A shot of the pegboard wall inside Maxway that clearly dates to when the store opened.

Inside, the store contained these gems: McCrory's shopping baskets! Apparently Maxway saw no need to hide what they were before. Ironically, this store did not appear to ever be actually signed as McCrory's.

Does anybody know what this used to be? It looks classy.

A step up outside of Peeble's. A step down from what it used to be.

A blurry shot of the entrance wing next to Peeble's featuring Kmart's #1 Fan.

The push to redevelop the mall is also part of a plan to redevelop the whole Nine Mile Road (VA 33) corridor, which the mall is situated on. In 2008, a nearby huge development known as White Oak Village opened attracting big name tenants like JCPenney, Ukrop's (now Martin's), Target and Lowe's. A similar smaller plan is envisioned for the mall, except that the redevelopment will keep successful mall tenants such as Peeble's, Citi Trends, Foot Locker and GNC. However, no mention was made if Maxway will also join the new development. The mall itself is plain and unattractive architecturally on the outside, and the entire property is dragging down the rest of the area. In addition, the success rate of keeping enclosed mall portions as part of redevelopments has also been poor as evidenced by Willow Lawn removing the remaining enclosed mall portion a few years after the first redevelopment of the center. Considering all of this, I hope that the redevelopment works out well and helps to improve the neighborhood although I do hate to see another vintage retail mall get demolished.

Rear entrance next to what was Sears. Does anybody have any idea what that store was to the right? It doesn't appear that it ever had mall access. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

Peeble's, formerly Thalhimer's. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

Closed-off back entrance of Peeble's/Thalhimer's. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

Ample Storage in an ample-sized old Sears. Apparently the old entrances weren't ample, though, considering they replaced them with garage doors. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

Intact Sears entrance followed by side view of Sears Auto Center. This store bears a striking resemblance to the Sears at Houston Mall in Warner Robins, GA. Photos by Mike Kalasnik.

Front of the Sears Auto Center, now a thrift store. Yes, this street has seen better days.

Citi Trends on what was likely Peoples or Dart Drug has both a mall and outside entrance. The old Sears is in the background. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

Outside of narrow mall entrance corridor next to Peeble's.

I really can't tell what this grocery store is, but I tend to wonder if it was either Giant or Safeway considered both were in the market during the time the mall was built.

The main entrance got a teal green and stucco update in 1989. If you look closely in the photo, the stucco is pretty damaged.

Fairfield Commons Mall sign from the road. The owners are looking at this and saying "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Mall)" thinking it's too Funkadelic.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

In South Carolina as in much of the South, things are said to move at a slower pace. Perhaps it is the humidity, but at least this old saying proved to be very true for Charleston who had to wait until 1972 to get their very first enclosed mall, Ashley Plaza Mall. Opening on August 10th of that year, shoppers I am sure were frantic to escape the heat in order to check out this place. The only problem was that this was probably not the mall they had hoped for. It featured none of the major department stores like Kerrison's or Belk Robinson, nor were there any national ones such as Sears, Montgomery Ward or JCPenney. This mall was just not like that, and it was just one reason it had a short life.

Anchors of the original Ashley Plaza Mall included local department store Condon's (that's with an "N", thank you), Edward's discount store, J.M. Field's discount store and Pantry Pride supermarket. Neither J.M. Fields nor Pantry Pride were accessible to the mall corridor, and both actually predated the mall by a couple years as part of an existing strip mall. In essence, Ashley Plaza was a hybrid of strip mall and enclosed mall. Edward's and Condon's, however, both had mall entrances. Not counting the anchors, the mall otherwise had 32 shops and a General Cinema theater flanking the north side. Thus, removing the hype surrounding its opening, it was basically an undersized mall with mostly local shops that was dated and doomed from the day it opened its doors.

From left to right: JM Fields, Pantry Pride, Revco, mall entrance, Condon's Department Store. From the Charleston Post-Courier from August 9, 1972.

Skylight construction. From the Charleston Post-Courier from August 9, 1972.

Finishing touches being made on the enclosed mall. From the Charleston Post-Courier from August 9, 1972.

It should be fairly obvious by now that none of the mentioned anchors exist in any form today, and aside from Radio Shack and General Cinema not much in the mall had lasting power, either. It only took five years for changes to start hitting the mall. In 1977, Edward's would be purchased by Kuhn's Big K. While Big K would take the spot, the Edward's purchase was detrimental to the company and Wal-Mart passed on the location when they purchased Big K in 1981. According to Randy Barton on the Deadmalls.com post about the mall, the old Big K location was then filled with "an unfinished wood furniture store, a mattress store and an imports store". In 1979, the next change came to the mall with the closing of J.M. Fields and its grocery division Pantry Pride. Fortunately, Woolco came and picked up the J.M. Field location, opening in March 1980. Red & White supermarket would also take over the former Pantry Pride space.

Edward's discount store and Condon's department store logos from the opening of the mall. From the Charleston Post-Courier from August 9, 1972.

One of the mall entrances while still under construction. How I miss the days when you just had this bold imposing "MALL" over the doors. From the Charleston Post-Courier from August 9, 1972.

The 80's were absolutely catastrophic for Ashley Plaza Mall. First, the mall no longer could carry the torch for...well...anything. Charles Towne Square mall opened fully enclosed in 1976, so air-conditioned comfort for shopping could be found elsewhere. Next, Citadel Mall opened in 1981 rendering the little mall even more useless bringing the anchors that Charlestonians were deprived of the first round. By then, the mall was already emptying out coinciding with the closing of Big K/Edward's. Woolco came next, closing with the chain in 1983. All hope was not lost, however, as Brendle's catalog showroom took over the former Woolco site a couple years later. This still, however, came on the heels of the closing of the General Cinema at the mall. With the mall going downhill fast, the situation was about to get a whole lot worse. Charleston, as history has shown, is extremely disaster prone. Two earthquakes leveled the city in the 1800's and the forecast was doomsday as one of the nation's most powerful hurricanes barreled down on the city in 1989 otherwise known as Hurricane Hugo.

Mall directory for the original 1972 mall. It was never much of a mall. From the Charleston Post-Courier from August 9, 1972.

Here is a snapshot of the mall's tenants today as Ashley Landing. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

According to Randy Barton's commentary, the mall was heavily damaged by the storm with portions of the facade removed and Brendle's completely leveled by the Category 4 storm. What was a mall gasping for life was suddenly completely dead, and it was one of the first dead malls in the country, lasting a mere 17 years. However, the mall was not abandoned. Brendle's was rebuilt, the Red & White grocery store became a new location of then-rapidly expanding Big Lots and the rest of the mall was demalled with Burlington Coat Factory taking over much of the space where the mall was before. Condon's proved to be the the last original tenant, closing in 1999 not due to poor business, but due to a dispute over the center constructing a new Publix store that they claimed was hurting their business. However, the logic of that seems dubious, and probably the chain was finding an attractive excuse to why they were going under. It was the last operating location of the 100 year old chain.

Main entrance of JM Fields/Woolco, now a gym. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

Citi Trends operated as Condon's until 1999. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

Big Lots is located in the former Pantry Pride/Red & White. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

Dollar Tree is on the left side of the center and takes up part of the former JM Fields/Woolco space. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

Burlington Coat Factory takes up much of the original mall space with the other portion now used by a church. Photo by Mike Kalasnik.

After renovations were made, the new center, Ashley Landing, would then become a conventional strip mall...sort of. Burlington Coat Factory filled in much of the mall, Citi Trends took over Condon's and the Woolco/JM Fields has been subdivided into smaller tenants including Dollar Tree. Big Lots replaced Pantry Pride/Red & White and what was left eventually became a church. About the only near original tenant is CVS, which still operates in the old Revco. Publix, which opened in 1999, sits across from the shopping center itself in the parking lot and is the only newer portion of the center. From the outside it still appears to be an old mall, and the old mall entrances are still visible deceiving would-be shoppers into thinking a fossilized mall awaits them. From an aerial shot, you can still make out the corridors of the mall. The center, while not dead, is definitely catering to a different market from when it opened. As one of the earliest mall redevelopment projects ever, this may explain why the mall was simply reconfigured in lieu of being torn down. Today, the center is essentially an urban complex catering to lower-income shoppers, but otherwise the city's oldest mall is only a mall in form not function.